Fred Ragsdale

From Russia with Lev Fred Ragsdale

I am amazed at how God works in our life to answer our prayers. At the time of my divorce, I prayed for another son. I even told God how to answer my prayer. Lord, there are quite a few single moms who have a son who needs a dad. I told God just introduce me to the right woman, and I'll take it from there. In reality, every time I met someone who fit the bill, something would happen, and they would disappear. What's up, God? Why aren't you working this out? What I didn't know was that God had already worked it out. The moment I prayed, he answered the prayer. He selected the son he wanted me to have, a boy who lived five thousand five hundred miles away in a small village in Russia. Russia. Thankfully, God didn't tell me that, or I would have freaked out. How was he going to get me to Russia?

The essence of this book is how God worked it all out. I never--and I mean never--wanted to go to Russia. In fact, Russia was the last place on earth I ever wanted to go. I am still in wonder at how God worked this out. Even when I finally agreed to look at adoption, I didn't really believe it would happen. I am a black American trying to adopt a blond, green-eyed Russian boy. Not going to happen. Wow, God, what a sense of humor. Even though there was roadblock after roadblock, flat rejections by the Russian authorities, and unimaginable difficulties, God just told me to trust him. I didn't know until the final seconds of this almost two-year adoption process that it would be approved. God did his part, and now Lev has a father, and I have the son I asked for.